BLACKLIGHT Ninja: Evolution of A Shinobi
by Soleneus
Summary: The Rehash of BLN and BLN:R. Naruto Uzumaki died at a young age. But, luckily for him, he had Alex Mercer sealed in his gut along with the Kyuubi. What follows are the chronicles of The Evolutionary Shinobi of Konoha, and his path to greatness! Naru/harem-no real limit.
1. The Beginning of Evolution

Prologue: Shit Keeps Happening to Me!

Naruto Uzumaki never considered himself brave. But when he saw those three men advancing on that purple-haired girl, he couldn't help himself. He picked up a rock, and threw it as hard as he could.

The rock flew through the air, hitting the man in the middle in the back of the head. It couldn't have hurt more than a mild sting, but the man and his compatriots were drunk, and therefore more sensitive to small things, like a small child.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled, fists balled by his sides. "Pick on someone who can fight back!" He didn't know what made him say that; those guys were easily three times his size, and had drunken rage to back them up.

The men forgot all about the girl in front of them, and turned towards Naruto snarling and running in surprisingly straight lines, considering how much alcohol they had consumed just a while ago.

"Uh oh!" Naruto took off running, the men chasing after him.

…

Naruto did not know how long he ran. Instead, he only knew that the men chasing him had gathered a crowd, a crowd that seemed oddly ready, and had chased him across town, to the small dirty alleyway that he was now trapped in.

The crowd of people advanced toward Naruto, freshly sharpened kunai just waiting to cut into his flesh. Naruto screamed as loud as he could, hoping that Inu-nii-san would come and help him, just like he always did.

But his scream just seemed to make the crowd happy.

…

Hatake Kakashi was many things: pervert, lazy, ANBU captain, and a cyclops, but one thing he was not, was happy. At least, not right now.

He had been called across town to deal with a small disturbance in a civilian bar, where three men had dragged Anko Mitarashi out of the bar and into an alley.

When he had arrived, however, he had found a worried looking Anko searching all over, shouting "Kid!" over and over again. Naturally, he stopped her and asked what she was doing, and that she already had a ticket for drunken misconduct already this month.

She had explained, rather hurriedly, that some kid with whisker marks had drawn the attention of three drunk men, and that a crowd had gathered, chasing the young boy across town.

Kakashi felt a cold chill in the pit if his stomach. He grabbed Anko, and they began leaping across roof tops in search of Naruto. They heard a scream pierce the air. Kakashi sprinted towards an alley where the scream originated from.

He found a crowd gathered in a tight knot around something, triumphant laughter ringing out.

Kakashi knew what they were doing.

His eyes widened behind his dog mask, and he charged forward, pushing through the crowd, Anko following behind him.

In the center of the knot, one of the drunken men held a kunai above a beaten a bloody Naruto. Kakashi shouted out, hurling his own kunai at the man.

The man swung his arms down just as the knife pierced his skull, and gravity did the rest.

The kunai buried itself into Naruto's chest, breaking through his ribs and stabbing into his heart.

Naruto gave a pained scream as the man fell back, dead. Kakashi yelled out, "No!" And a cold fury burned inside of him. The crowd, who used to be cheering, now froze in sheer terror as Kakashi released pure, unadulterated killing intent on them.

Drawing his nodachi, Kakashi cleaved through the first person he reached, spilling blood and gore onto the ground. Like a grim reaper, Kakashi scythed through the crowd, now screaming in fear, blood and body pieces splattering the walls, ground, and faces, roaring like a beast the entire time.

Anko cradled Naruto's head in her lap, running her fingers through his hair, muttering, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," over and over again, tears running down her face.

Naruto reached up weakly, recognizing the girl from earlier, and wiped a tear trailing down her cheek, smearing his blood instead. "Hey…a pretty girl like you shouldn't cry…" Naruto spoke shakily, in great agony.

Kakashi appeared above Naruto, covered in the blood of the murderous crowd. He knelt next to Naruto's head, pulling his mask off, showing his face to Naruto. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I couldn't protect you…"

Naruto waved weakly at the man he knew as 'Inu-nii-san'. "Hey, nii-san…I missed you…were where you?"

Kakashi shook his head. Naruto looked at Anko, and smiled at her. "Hey…you have really pretty hair…"

Anko choked back a sob and smiled at Naruto. "Thank you, Naruto. Thank you for saving me from those men…"

Naruto waved her off weakly. "I wish…I could…be friends…with someone…as pretty as you…"

Anko squeezed his hand tighter. "I am your friend, Naruto. I'll always be your friend."

Naruto smiled a true smile that seemed to light up the alley way with a dim light. "A real friend? I can't wait…to tell…jiji…"

His eyes glazed over and he slumped, releasing his last breath.

Anko cried out in anguish, and Kakashi bowed his head, silent tears making their way down his face.

…

Inside Naruto, some thing woke. This being of great power looked confusedly around his cage. The last thing it remembered was being stabbed through by a giant, cold dagger.

But that was not the main issue. It looked out of its' cage into the hallway in front of it. Lights flickered and went out, accelerating towards the cage.

A cold chill crept up its' spine. It knew that feeling.

It was the feeling of death.

Acting quickly, it extended tendrils from its' body into the cage, infusing the body it was in with its' power.

_I need biomass to work with, and there is very little in here._ The being thought. _But there are fresh sources outside. I must try and control this body, otherwise it will die._

…

Outside his mind, Naruto's body stirred, drawing a surprised gasp from Anko. His eyes still retained a glazed look, but his arm moved, pointing towards the nearest body.

Black tendrils crawled across his skin, jumping off his arm and crawling towards the body. It latched on as Anko and Kakashi watched, disgusted and little fascinated. The body started to break down, clothes and all, into black sludge that the tendril sucked up, gaining size and strength, branching off into smaller latched onto other corpses and started to feed.

Anko jumped back as Naruto's body squirmed, black tendrils covering his body. the kunai implanted in his heart gave a feeble wiggle that grew in strength until it was forcefully expelled from his body. The hole in his chest began to close, black tendrils stitching it shut.

The entire alley was cleared of bodies and blood, not even a smidgeon remained. The tendrils, thicker and stronger, sprang back onto Naruto, wrapping him in a cocoon of writhing black mass.

Kakashi and Anko stood and watched, mouths agape as the cocoon writhed and twisted on the ground. They were snapped out of their reverie by a sharp command.

"Inu, Anko!" they turned around sharply, coming face to face with the Hokage. And was he _pissed_.

"Take Naruto to my office and lay him in the bed chamber! Now!" He barked. Inu layer a finger on Naruto's cocoon, as well as Anko, and they shunshinned to the Hokage's office, laying Naruto on the bed behind the wall behind the Hokage's desk.

The Third Hokage appeared in front of them in a puff of smoke, looking down at the cocoon. He turned to the ANBU captain and the chunin, glaring at them. "Explain what happened. Now."

As they explained, the Hokage's expression grew steadily more and more murderous, until he looked like he would burn the village to the ground. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration, sighing heavily.

"Tell no one of what you saw this night, am I clear?" He ordered, getting nods from both Anko and Kakashi. "You are dismissed."

Anko spoke up shakily. "If it is alright, Hokage-sama, would I be able to stay with Naruto?"

The Hokage nodded tiredly, and she sat down, watching the cocoon fiercely, waiting for a sign that everything would be alright.

…

It wouldn't be until morning that the cocoon would shift, and begin to withdraw.

"Hokage-sama!" Anko called. "Something's happening to Naruto!"

…

Chapter 1: Revelations and Changes.

_Last time:_

_It wouldn't be until morning that the cocoon would shift, and begin to withdraw._

"_Hokage-sama!" Anko called. "Something's happening to Naruto!"_

…

The Third appeared in the room as if by magic, startling Anko. "What is it?" He asked worriedly. Anko pointed wordlessly at the cocoon, that had steadily grown larger during the night, until it was about six feet tall, and three feet wide.

The cocoon seemed to be getting smaller and smaller, the black mass withdrawing into Naruto's body.

But when he was revealed, the Third and Anko could not believe their eyes.

…

Naruto groaned and tried to sit up, his eyes shut tight in pain. He recognizes the bed he's in by the feel. It's the nicest bed he's ever been in, the one behind the wall in the Hokage's office where he spent that one night, about a year ago, after the orphanage kicked him out.

"Jiji?" He asked quietly, feeling hands push him back onto the bed.

"Yes, Naruto, it's me. Are you alright?"

"What happened? I feel…weird. Like my arms and legs are too heavy. And my head feels like someone stuffed it full of wool." Naruto said.

"What do you remember about last night?" The Hokage's voice asked.

"I remember seeing this really pretty girl in an alley with these guys, and she was backing away, so I threw a rock at one of the guys and they started chasing me. I got cornered in an alley, and they started beating me and cutting me. And then I saw Inu-nii-san, and felt this really bad pain in my chest."

Naruto scrunched his eyes up, as if trying to remember every detail of what happened. "Then I saw the pretty girl from before with the purple hair, and she was crying…after that, I remember everything growing dark. Then I woke up I front of these cages in a sewer…one of them had giant, sleeping fox inside, and the other had a guy in a jacket and a hood lying on the ground, panting."

_(Flashback!)_

_Naruto stared at the man on the ground in the cage in front of him, panting like he had run several laps around Konoha._

_Before Naruto could speak, the man spoke in halting sentences. _

"_A dude? I saved… a dude's life? Oh, man… why couldn't you… have been a girl? That… would have been so awesome…"_

_Naruto just stared at the man in surprise. "Huh?" Was his articulate reply._

_The man rolled his glowing, silvery-blue eyes at Naruto. "What? I don't get a 'thank you for saving my life'? Or at least a hug? Or some shit?"_

_Naruto shook the shock out of his system, and asked, "Wait, you saved my life? How? And who are you?"_

_The man stood up straight, no longer panting. He spoke softly. "Many people think that when you die, you see a white light. I flew a bomb away from a ravaged city-"_

"_What city?"_

" _It was called New York. Ahem, and as white light filled my vision, I figured, 'I've killed so many, maybe it's only right that I die to save so many more.'" _

"_How many people have you killed?"_

"_More than you would want to know! Stop interrupting me! AHEM! I felt pain. More pain than I could've ever imagined. It felt like I was being torn apart slowly; piece by piece._

_It seemed to go on forever, and as far as I know, it just might have. When it ended, I found myself in a strange land, on top of a giant fox. A giant fox fighting a giant frog. _

_Right then, I thought I was insane."_

"_Are you?"_

_Shut up! A blonde man rode on top of the frog, doing something with his hands. He shouted something, and the air seemed to split._

_The freakiest thing I have ever seen, just appears out of thin air, and stabs through me with this huge dagger."_

"_How big?"_

"_Really big! I don't remember much after that, except waking up in here, wherever here is. A giant cell, ankle-high water, and a whole lot of nothing. Except, of course, my 'roommate', that giant fox."_

"_WHAT? The Kyuubi is in me?"_

"_No, a giant fuckin' fox is!_

_When my cell started to go dark, I felt death approaching you, and me._

_But I don't want to you to die. So I sent BLACKLIGHT-"_

"_What's that?"_

" _A highly potent virus. I sent BLACKLIGHT out of my cell, to take control of your body, and save your life, see your memories in the process._

_And for the first time, I'm glad I'm like this. Because I saved your life. I'm also glad the lock on this cage purified the virus, otherwise, all hell would have broken loose."_

"_You seem like you would like that sort of thing."_

"_I would. And now, you are like me. Not human anymore, but something…more._

_I was known as many things, back in New York. Killer, murderer, monster, terrorist...smart-ass, though you could probably give me a run for my money.. I am all of these things. But, I was a living virus, known as ZEUS."_

"_Who?"_

"_I don't know! Anyway, I'm not known as ZEUS. Not anymore. Now, I am simply a voice in your head, giving you direction, and help. I really don't know what my name really should be, but… you can call me Alex. Alex Mercer. Yeah…that'll work"_

"_That's a weird name."_

"_Fuck off, Fishcake! This is serious!"_

"_Hey!"_

"_I am Alex Mercer, and, like it or not, you are now my legacy._

_You will kill, you will consume, and you will evolve._

_You are Naruto Uzumaki, and you will survive._

_You have no choice."_

_The man, Alex, coughed into his hand. "Sorry about that. But it's true. You have no choice but to survive. I can feel a little of what you feel, and I did not need to feel the knife to the heart, thank you very much. It took almost all of my power to save your life, and I'm a little worn out, especially since you absorbed most of my biomass, asshole. I wouldn't be surprised if the changes I made to your body manifested really soon. Are there any questions you'd like to ask?"_

_Naruto asked., "Could you teach me how to use your powers?"_

_Alex thought for a moment. Then he looked around the sewer that was this kid's mind. He grinned. "Oh, I'll teach you more than just that."_

_(End Flashback)_

The Third and Anko stiffened. "So, you know about the Kyuubi, Naruto."

Naruto sat up, and nodded. "When were you going to tell me, jiji?"

The Third sighed. "Hopefully, when you were a chunin. That's what I planned for, anyways." He paused, slightly fearful of Naruto's reaction.

Naruto just sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I guess that's why everyone hates me," he said softly, slumping over. "But why would they hate me for that, jiji? I didn't do anything, it was the fox! Don't they know the difference?"

"But Naruto, what about Inu and Neko? Or Weasel and Bear? And Anko?" The Third prodded.

Naruto opened his eyes and looked at the Hokage, who took a step back. "Who's Anko?" He asked, unaware of the Hokage peering into his eyes.

"Naruto," he said, drawing the boy's attention. "There are people out there who don't hate you for what you carry."

"Yeah!" Anko spoke up for the first time since Naruto had awoken, a light blush on her face. "Some of us even want to be your friend!"

Naruto stared at Anko, not noticing the fact that he was taller than her. While sitting on a bed. "You…you really want to be my friend, for real?" he asked quietly.

Anko couldn't stand seeing the boy so down, so she did the only thing she could think of. She jumped on him, and began to tickle fiercely.

"What-? What are you doing? Hahaha! Let go of me!" Naruto laughed, and Anko smiled. "Of course I want to be your friend, you big dummy!" She pinned him down to the bed, which was surprisingly hard to do, and hugged him. "I'll always be your friend." She murmured into his shoulder.

Naruto hugged her back, savoring the warm feeling holding someone who cared for you gave him, while also ignoring the suggestions that Alex sent him.

And then he caught sight of his reflection in a mirror.

"Oh, KAMI! What the hell happened to me?" He flung Anko off him to get a better look at himself.

Standing in front of the mirror, Naruto would not recognize himself. He was at least five-foot nine, his blonde hair was longer and shaggier, and he had lost the baby fat on his face. His body was toned, but not overly so, and he was dressed in black shoes, black pants, a blue shirt, a burnt orange hoodie, and a leather jacket with two white stripes on the upper arm, and an orange swirl on the back.

_ALEX! _He roared mentally in his mind, _What the hell did you do to me?_

Alex sent back in a mock-hurt voice,_ What? You don't like the changes I made to you? Now you're faster, stronger, not to mention taller, and you'll be the best dressed!_

Naruto was nonplussed. _I'm fuckin' five and half years old! I look like I'm twenty! I can't go to the Shinobi Academy like this!_

Alex huffed._ Don't you think I know that? Your other, less appealing, form is still stored in your genetic code. You can switch back anytime you want, but you can't use any abilities when you are. This way you can go to the academy, and still chase some tail while not being associated with yourself! Genius!_

Now, Naruto was confused._ What's a genetic code?_

Alex sighed. _And biology. Hoo, boy, do I have a lot to teach you._

Naruto turned to the Third and Anko, who were looking at him in confusion. He quickly explained that it was the changes from BLACKLIGHT. He then looked into his eyes in the mirror, and saw that instead of his usual cerulean blue, they were now silvery-blue and faintly glowing.

He shifted himself back to his younger body, biomass swirling around him. He looked back at the mirror, and sighed. He still had the silver eyes.

Naruto then noticed something, more correctly, some_one_, missing from the room. "Where's Inu-nii-san?" he asked.

The Third shook his surprise out of his system, and said, "Inu had to patrol the village today." The Hokage turned serious. "Now, Naruto, I want you to keep this a secret, from everyone, okay?"  
Naruto nodded vigorously. He knew what the villagers would think.

"So what do I do?" He asked, slightly scared.

The Third smiled benevolently. "Do what any shinobi would do. Train and learn to protect yourself. Use every resource available."

Naruto nodded, thinking.

_Hey, kid._ Naruto jumped in surprise.

_What, Alex?_

_Ask the old man for some books on sealing. _

_Why?_

_SO you can use it to wipe your ass. So you can LEARN, JACKASS!_

_Alright, alright!_

"Hey, old man?" Naruto drew the attention of the Hokage.

"Yes, Naruto?"

"Do you have any books on sealing?"

The Third frowned. "Why do you want to know?"

Naruto shrugged. "I figured that, I have a really complicated seal on me, so why not learn about it?"

The Third acquiesced, still frowning. "Alright, but promise me you won't mess with your seal, okay?"

"I promise, jiji."

Inside the seal, Alex chuckled darkly. _Hehehe. Let the torture begin!_

_What was that?_

_Nothing! Heheheh…_

**A/N: This is the first chapter, which is basically the prologue and first chapter from BLN: Rewrite. **

"**Why are you posting this?" You may ask. The answer, may annoy you.**

**I am rewriting BLN, again. But! Before you get all angry, and scream, "WHY?" I have a good reason.**

**The reason I practically abandoned the original BLN is because I thought it sucked. And then…REVELATION: It didn't suck as bad as I thought it did, once I read it over again.**

**And then, I was given a dilemma: Finish BLN, or BLN:R. **

**After much deliberation, I decided to do both.**

**This could be called a rehash, but I'd like to refer to it as "The Parent Thing." Everyone knows that you need to different parents to make a baby. Both genes go into the baby, from two fundamentally different sources, and the baby is greater than the sum of it's parts.**

**Basically, I'm going to smash both of the stories, both wildly different, together, and make the result even better than it's predecessors.**

**I hope I didn't piss too many people off with this.**

**-Soleneus.**


	2. Graduation

Chapter 3: A Few Years On…/Graduation

Naruto was now eight years old, and attending the Academy. At this point in time, he could access his chakra, and was a Level Three Intermediate Sealing Expert. Whatever that means to you, it meant that he could make his own explosive tags, storage scrolls, and other various sealing items.

Before his time at the Academy, Alex came to the conclusion that Naruto should act like a complete and total idiot, who wore bright orange and screamed various annoying catchphrases.

Naruto did not want to do that. Not at all. And orange was nice, but not in an entire jumpsuit. He agreed that he should hide his strength and true form, as well as his skills in sealing, but otherwise, no. No way would he look like a retard. (And a huge one at that.)

It was during his first week at the Academy when he made friends with Sasuke Uchiha.

…

Naruto was walking away from the Academy that day, thinking on the lesson, which was about the Shodaime Hokage, who could use wood jutsus, which he used to repress Bijuu.

As he thought, a familiar scent caught his nose. Turning around, he saw Sasuke Uchiha and a guy who looked just like him, if older and with stress lines running underneath his eyes.

"Hey, Weasel!" Naruto called, running over.

Itachi Uchiha looked down at the short eight-year-old, and smiled. "Hello, Naruto-kun. Can you please not refer to me by my ANBU codename while I'm not in my mask?"

Naruto nodded as Sasuke tugged on Itachi's sleeve. "Itachi-nii-san? Who's he? And how do you know him?"

Itachi pulled Naruto and Sasuke to his sides, and introduced them. "Sasuke-kun, this Naruto. I protect him sometimes. Naruto-kun, this is my little brother, Sasuke. Say hello, you two."

Naruto stuck his hand out, and Sasuke took it with a small amount of trepidation. "Hi!" Naruto said brightly, shaking Sasuke's hand exuberantly. Sasuke shook it back, and asked, "Do you want to come train with me and nii-san? I train everyday after school."

Naruto nodded his head vigorously. "Sure! I'm always up for training!"

Sasuke smiled a genuine smile. "Okay! We're working on taijutsu forms this week! Come on, nii-san, come on!"

Itachi smiled. _Seems like father hasn't sunk his arrogant claws too deep into Sasuke, and now he has a friend to play with. I'm just glad it was Naruto-kun. He could use more friends than just Anko._

Itachi was mock-dragged out of the academy by Naruto and Sasuke, while jealous fan-girls (Yes, he had fan girls even at that age), watched. Two of them, however, took note of how easy it was for Naruto to become friends with Sasuke. They noticed that Naruto just walked right up and started talking. They took it to heart.

A lavender eyed girl with dark blue hair watched as well, a small smile on her face. _Only you could make Sasuke your friend, Naruto-kun. I just wish I could talk to you instead of admiring you from afar._

…

And so, after that day, Naruto and Sasuke were rarely seen without the other. They sat by each other in class, they ate lunch together, and they always trained after school with Itachi.

It was actually about a month after that, that two girls, one named Sakura Haruno, and the other named Ino Yamanaka, plucked up the courage to talk to the pair.

…

Naruto and Sasuke sat next to each other, eating lunch during the lunch break at the Academy. Sasuke laughed at the joke Naruto told him as Sakura and Ino shyly walked up.

"…So he takes the paint-bomb seal I made and examines it up close, looking for flaws, and without him noticing, I set it off! It took Kakashi-nii-san a week to get rid of the neon pink paint. " Naruto finished. Sasuke chuckled and brought his chopsticks to his lips, when he noticed the shadows of the girls behind him. He turned around and Ino and Sakura blushed.

Naruto just waved while Sasuke ate out of his bento. "Hey guys! Do you need something?" He asked.

Sakura stumbled over what she was trying to say, and Ino barged ahead with, "Can we train with you?"

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other, surprised. "You want to train with us? Why?" Sasuke questioned.

Ino blushed and clammed up, but Sakura finally spoke. "We want to train so we can become strong ninja!" Noticing that she had both Sasuke's and Naruto's attention, she blushed heavily and stopped talking.

Shrugging at each other, Naruto and Sasuke both said, "Sure, why not?" Naruto told the girls where to meet them after school with a smile.

Pale lavender eyes watched the exchange sadly, the thoughts mirroring the girl's eyes. _Oh, Naruto-kun…I wish I could talk to you…_

…

Three months later, Ino and Sakura had improved by leaps and bounds while training with Naruto and Sasuke and Itachi.

The lavender-eyed girl watched them, specifically Naruto, every chance she could.

It wasn't until about the second year of the Academy, after the group had trained and left Naruto in the field to go home, that things between Naruto and the lavender-eyed girl came to a head.

…

Naruto stretched and relaxed, pushing against a tree and letting out grunts of satisfaction as his joints popped back into place.

_Man, Alex, you could have told me not to try and fight Itachi when I'm in my nine-year old body._

_Heh hah! That's what you get for slacking off last night when you were supposed to be learning Physics, jackass! _

_Physics are fucking boring!_

_Deal with it, bitch! After you learn physics, then I'll teach you how to change your hands into claws, alright?_

Naruto straightened up and nodded, shifting to his adult form to speed home for a bath, when he heard a squeak and a rustle in the bushes, and the sound of someone rushing through the trees.

Naruto whipped around, sprinting through the trees, trying to catch up to the peeking culprit before they left the training ground.

Too late. Naruto reached the edge of the training ground, stopping before fringe. He caught sight of a girl with deep blue hair, running away from the training field at a full tilt.

_Shit!_ Naruto cursed. He leapt onto a nearby roof dashing along the top towards the Hokage's tower. Naruto jumped from rooftop to rooftop, speeding along to the tower, hoping to get there before the girl. An apartment building loomed ahead of him, and he swore.

Leaping from the rooftop, Naruto landed on the side of the building, and began to sprint up it, leaving footprints in the concrete. The complex was tall, and it took Naruto about a minute to get to the top, where he flipped over the lip of the roof. The Hokage tower was right in front of him, and the Third's office was only a little higher than the apartment complex.

Backing up, Naruto sprinted forward and kicked off the ground, arms out and body tilted forward, flying through the air towards the Hokage's office window.

…

The Third sat in his office, finishing up the last stack of paperwork for the day, when Hiashi Hyuuga's daughter, Hinata, ran through his open office door and crouched over, panting.

"Hokage…sama…there's…an…imposter…" She panted out. The Third stood from his seat, alarmed, when Naruto flew through his window, rolled to his feet and skidded to a stop before he hit the wall.

"Jiji! Someone…saw…me." Naruto trailed off when he looked down and saw the girl who had seen him frozen in fear. His eyes widened, and he pointed and yelled, "That's her!"

The shout shook Hinata out of her shock, and she bolted for the door. But the Sandaime was faster. He appeared in front of her, shutting the door and locking it tight.

Hinata looked back and forth between Naruto and the Third and collapsed, crying. "P-please don't k-k-kill me!" She sobbed.

This took Naruto and the Third aback. They looked at each other in confusion, then the Third spoke. "Hinata, we're not going to kill you. Let me just explain what's going on, okay?"

Hinata looked fearfully between Naruto, who had shifted back to his nine-year old form, and the Sandaime, and nodded.

…

By the time they had finished, Hinata was crying again, but for a whole different reason. She never knew that the villagers of Konoha could be so cruel.

"I have a question to ask, Hinata, if I can?" Naruto drew her attention, and she nodded. "Why were you watching me?"

Hinata froze. She did not want to answer that, but she tried her best. "I-I-I-I-I w-w-was w-w-w-watching y-y-you…b-because I-I-I l-l-l-like y-y-y-you…" She trailed off quietly, hoping her crush didn't hear her.

No such luck.

Naruto's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You…like me?" he asked incredulously. Hinata nodded imperceptibly. "Do you even know me?"

Hinata's head whipped up, looking at Naruto in fear. "Of c-c-course! I-I-I…" She couldn't complete the sentence, and she started to cry again, despairing and feeling alone.

Naruto knelt next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Hinata. You may not know me, but…would you like to? Get to. Know me, I mean."

Hinata looked at him with hope filled eyes. "Y-you mean it?" She asked tearfully.

Naruto nodded, smiling ruefully. "I know what it's like to be alone. No deserves to be alone Hinata. Why don't we start out as friends, and see what happens from there?"

Hinata tackled him in a hug, squeezing the life out of him.

The Third chuckled. _Ah, to be youthful again…dammit Gai! _

Realizing what she was doing, Hinata jumped off Naruto, blushing furiously. Naruto laughed and stood up, taking her hand and walking out the door.

"So, what's your favorite food?" He asked, smiling at her as she smiled back and blushed gently.

"I-I l-like cinnamon buns," she stammered quietly, looking positively ecstatic to be talking to her crush.

…

That was the start of Hinata and Naruto's relationship. And also, the start of the trouble between Naruto and Kiba Inuzuka.

Kiba Inuzuka was, as the name implies, an Inuzuka, one of the great clans of Konoha. He was also a pervert and an asshole, and his perversion focused on every woman he came into contact with, whether they were his age or older; to him, they were all 'bitches that need to be tamed', as he once put it to Naruto before Naruto punched his lights out.

And Kiba felt that Naruto, hanging out with Hinata, was encroaching on his one of his 'bitches', and therefore needed to be taught a lesson.

Long story short: he failed. Many, many times. Quite spectacularly, too. He never seemed to learn, even with the… "Insistence" of his mother and sister, both far from happy with his views on woman.

Hinata, on the other hand, gained the confidence and companionship she longed for, and slowly lost her stutter, though she still blushed around Naruto. Over the next few years, they were almost completely inseparable.

But, it wouldn't be until one of their 'friendly' dates, (at this time they were 11) that Naruto walked her home, and, tired of waiting for the blond to pick up on the subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) hints that she loved him. When she was about to go inside, she spun around and kissed him square on the lips without preamble.

Stunned to the point of speechlessness, Naruto could only gawk at her in shock. When he finally did regain speech, he sounded like Hinata did when he first met her, with a blush to match.

"Wh-w-what?"

Hinata smiled serenely at Naruto, the full moon overhead shining and illuminating the area with a silver glow. "Naruto-kun, you may have the mind of a genius…but sometimes, you're so stupid." She leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck, and pressing her lips to his tenderly.

"I love you, Naruto-kun. With all my heart."

"Why?" Hinata laid her head in the crook of his neck, and told him why she loved him. She fell in love with him through everything they had gone through; when she trained with just him, and he dedicated time to just them; over the picnics, the walks, and talks that they had at night, when they could be themselves. How he held her when she came back from her a losing spar between her and her sister, giving her the comfort of a loving and caring embrace, which she so lacked at home. All these things she loved about him, where not from some ulterior motive. It was simply how he was naturally.

"And I never want to let you go."

Naruto pushed her back by the shoulders gently, and she saw his face.

A genuine smile, one he had only shown to a select few, lit up his face as tears of joy streamed from his eyes, shining silver in the moonlight.

"Hinata…you…don't know how much this means to me." He wiped a tear from his chin. "You…are the first person to ever say that they love me…"

"Naruto-kun…"

"I didn't know how you felt, Hinata…I was afraid that if I told you how I felt…you would reject me…"

Hinata clasped his hands in hers gently, the tracks of moisture marring her beautiful face. "Naruto…I would never reject you, no matter what! I love you with everything I am, and you will never have to worry about me hating you!"

Naruto gently brushed the pad of his thumb across her cheek, wiping the tears from her face. "I know that now Hinata…I wish I had not been so blind, we could have had more time together…But I swear to you, Hinata Hyuuga, I will make it up to you! I will do everything in my power to make you the happiest woman in the Elemental Countries!"

A bright, joyful smile dimpled Hinata's cheeks, a light pink dusting across her cheeks. Naruto's hand went to her waist, and the other behind her neck, pushing her forward, their lips meeting in a chaste, but passionate kiss that they would cherish in their memories as one of the best experiences of their short lives.

Far away and through a crystal ball, an old man smiled to himself as his own tears slid down his cheeks. _He's right…I've never told him how much he meant to me, like my own grandson. I will show you, Naruto, just how much you mean to us. I'm glad someone did, and that you have found someone to love…_

He closed his eyes softly, cutting the flow of chakra to the orb as he leaned back. _They remind of us so much, Biwako…I miss you more than you know, my love._

…

Naruto practically skipped to the Uchiha clan compound, his kiss with Hinata still fresh in his mind, his giddiness practically radiating off him like a sun's heat.

He stopped in front of the Uchiha compound, fist up and prepared to knock, when he noticed that the door was already opened, and the scent of blood was thick and heavy on the air. Naruto crouched, drawing a kunai from his pouch and holding it in front of him defensively. He cautiously pushed the door open, peeking inside.

It was, quiet literally, a massacre.

Dead bodies, in various states of dismemberment and positions, lay in pools of blood, some lying in the street, others lying half-in-half-out of doorways and windows. All bore the slashes and swipes of a blade.

None had been spared. Not the women, and not the children. All had been murdered brutally by a blade.

Rage built in Naruto, like an inferno of hatred. He may not have known all of these people, but no one deserved to die like this. Naruto rushed forward, dropping all pretenses of stealth, heading straight towards Sasuke's house.

He slammed through the door, the wood shattering around the floor with loud a crack, in time to see Fugaku Uchiha slide off Itachi's blade and land on the floor, blood pooling around his lifeless corpse.

Mikoto Uchiha screamed in sheer terror as Itachi advanced on her with his kodachi drawn. Seeing Naruto standing behind her, looking horrified and confused, he rapped her over the head with the hilt of his blade. She collapsed unceremoniously, unconscious and blissfully unaware.

"Itachi-nii?" Naruto and Itachi both turned and saw Sasuke standing in the doorway, looking down at the bodies of his mother and father with a terrified expression, mistaking Fugaku's blood for both mother and father's blood. "W-why are you doing this?" Sasuke asked pleadingly, falling to his knees, tears streaming from his eyes.

"Foolish little brother," Itachi disappeared from where he was standing in a burst of speed, reappearing in front of Sasuke, staring into his eyes with no emotion. "Why else? To test my strength."

His three tomoed Sharingan eyes morphed into something completely different, a black shuriken. He looked Sasuke dead in the eyes as it spun rapidly.

Naruto, his real form allowing greater speed, slammed into Itachi's side with as much force as he could muster from a short distance, knocking them both through the wall and into a bloodied courtyard, where even more bodies lay.

Itachi rolled and kicked up, throwing Naruto off of him and into a wall behind them. Naruto scrambled to his feet and ducked underneath a decapitating strike that lacked actual power, punching out with viciousness. Itachi rolled to the side and slammed a kunai into a nerve cluster in his arm, making Naruto scream out in pain.

Naruto snarled and swung, leading with a left hook. Itachi caught the punch with a twitch of pain, rolled Naruto's arm around into a reversed grip and pushed forward, kodachi pointing straight ahead.

The blade of the kodachi stuck straight out of Naruto's back, covered in his black blood. Sasuke, watching from the doorway, let out a gasp of shock as Naruto's face was revealed to him from the light of the hole. _He looks like Naruto, but older!_ He thought in surprise.

Itachi leaned forward and whispered lowly in Naruto's ear. "Naruto-kun, believe me, this was for the best of the village. If you don't believe me, tell Alex that there is a fresh corpse to the very right of you. And always, please, be my brother's friend. He will need one for the coming years, and you will be the best for him."

With a seemingly brutal yank, he pulled the kodachi out of Naruto's chest and struck him in the head with the blunt side of the blade, knocking him unconscious. Itachi dropped Naruto next to the dead body, to the immediate right, as he promised.

Itachi turned to a crying Sasuke, barely any emotion flickering across his face, and knelt to look in his eyes. "Look into my eyes, otouto." Sasuke looked up as Itachi's eyes morphed again. "**Tsukyomi."**

Sasuke slumped over, a disbelieving look plastered across his face, out cold as Itachi stood. He left the compound forever, with a single tear of blood trailing from his right eye. He left behind two confused children, an unconscious mother, a lot of bodies, far too many questions, and not enough answers.

...

Inside Naruto's body, while the blond was unconscious, Alex's pushed his control over the biomass inside Naruto. Black tendrils crept down his arm, creeping along the ground until it reached the body of the dead Uchiha. The tendrils latched on and dug in, beginning to break down the body, absorbing the DNA into Naruto.

Naruto, still asleep, began to groan as the memories from the Uchiha invaded his mind.

_[Memories]_

_Fugaku sat at the head of a circular table, surrounded by his clansmen. A smug smirk curled his lips, and satisfaction radiated from him._

"_Are we in agreement, then?" Fugaku spoke in a matching smug tone. "We are going to quietly overtake the most important parts of Konoha, the Academy and several other key points, and then march on the Hokage's office and demand his surrender. It is a simple and foolproof plan, with very little blood shed. All in agreement, say 'Hai'."_

_A resounding 'Hai!' rang through the room, and Fugaku nodded, smirking. "Very good. Dismissed, until we meet next week for final revisions."_

_The man Naruto was watching through stood and filed out of the door with the rest of the clansmen, and began heading home. He was almost to his house when the screaming started, and his life ended with the flash of a blade and a spray of blood._

_[Memories End]_

Alex, in Naruto's head, snarled and cursed. _Bastards! They were planning a coup! That must be why Itachi killed them. He was so loyal to Konoha, that he killed his own family!_

Alex sighed. _And look where it got him. Becoming a missing-nin, on orders. But whose, exactly?_

…

Sasuke awoke in the hospital, confused and delirious, to one hell of a migraine. He clutched his head in pain as he struggled to push himself up, opening his eyes and looking around.

He jerked in surprise as he noticed the man sitting in the chair by his bed, snoring quietly. It was the same guy who attacked Itachi, before he caught Sasuke in Tsukyomi. The guy looked like an older version of Naruto, silvery-blue eyes and everything. Could they be related?

The man jerked awake with a small utterance of "Wha?", startling Sasuke in the process. He looked around wildly, searching for someone, his eyes finally settling on Sasuke.

"Ah, Sasuke, you're awake." Naruto said with a small smile. Sasuke looked at him confusedly.

"Do I know you?" He asked.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, you might know me." Naruto shifted to his younger form.

Sasuke gaped at Naruto, eyes and mouth wide, gums flapping like a fish. "N-Naruto?"

Naruto laughed at his expression and nodded. "Yup! In the flesh. Or whatever I'm made out of, I'm really not sure what 'Biomass' is, exactly."

Sasuke only had one question. "What? How?"

Maybe two.

Naruto sighed and clasped his hands tightly, looking down at the intertwined fingers. "To put in simple terms, I have a bloodline. Like the Sharingan, it requires a certain situation to become effective." Naruto looked Sasuke right in the eye. "That situation is death."

Sasuke looked mystified, so Naruto elaborated.

"When I was five years old, I took a kunai to the heart." Sasuke gasped and looked at his chest, searching for some kind of wound. "As I lay dying in a pool of my own blood, my bloodline activated, and used it's specialty, and consumed the biological material, 'biomass', of all the people nearby to save my life, and at the same time imbuing my body with transformative, and restorative, powers." Naruto pointed at Sasuke's eyes. "You see, where your bloodline is a Dojutsu, an eye technique or a sight enhancer, mine is a physical enhancer. Whereas yours requires a near-death experience to activate, mine required me to actually see the tunnel and the bright light and all that shit."

Naruto shook his head. "When it took the biomass from the bodies of the people, it took too much for my body to handle, and therefore needed a bigger place to store it. So, it grew my body to an adult form, where it could store more biomass, more easily."

He looked at Sasuke to see his reaction, and had to hold back a chuckle. Sasuke's eyebrows looked like they were trying their very best to detach themselves from his forehead and fly away.

Naruto grew solemn, his expression reflecting that. "You are one of my best friends, Sasuke, and I'm sorry that I had to hide this from you. I was under orders by the Hokage himself, not to tell anyone if I could help it."

Sasuke's mind went back to last night, when Itachi caught him under Tsukiyomi._ 'Remember well, little brother, that Naruto has been your best friend for years, and he means well. Grow, grow to be strong and independent, but always, always keep your friends close to you. They are your true source of power.' Is this what you meant, Itachi-nii?_

He smiled warmly at Naruto, and said amicably. "I understand. You're still my best friend, Naruto. You're more than that, you're my brother in all but blood." He stuck his hand out and Naruto took it, both smiling happily. Sasuke and Naruto shook hands as the door opened, and the Third Hokage walked in, followed by Mikoto.

The Uchiha Matriarch dashed into the room and hugged Sasuke fiercely, squeezing the breath from his lungs. Naruto and the Third watched in silent amusement as Sasuke struggled to breathe, his face turning blue, they finally decided to intervene.

Mikoto separated from Sasuke, albeit grudgingly, and gave him one last hug, crying, "Oh, my baby! I was so worried that you wouldn't wake up!"

Sasuke gave her a strange look. "What?"

Naruto jumped, and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Weeell, you've been in a coma for…about a week. Sorry, I forgot to tell you that."

Sasuke, eyes wide, yelled, "WHAT?"

The Third nodded serenely. "Indeed, whatever Itachi did to you, it put you into a coma for quiet awhile. Naruto and your other friends have been by your side the entire time, waiting for you to wake up, and keeping watch over you."

Sasuke looked at Naruto with questioning eyes. "Really? What for?"

Naruto gave him a dead-pan look, and said two words. "Advantageous fan-girls."

Sasuke shuddered in horror and nodded understandingly.

The Third spoke solemnly, drawing the attention of the two Uchiha and the Uzumaki in the room. "Now, Sasuke, you must be wondering why this tragedy happened, am I correct?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes and nodded slowly. "Simply put, it was because your father was planning a coup d'état, in which he would take over the key points in the village and then force me to name him Hokage, under threat of hostages. He had the backing of almost the entire clan. If you do not believe me, ask the only Uchiha who supported Itachi to report the plan the clan was hatching." He said, gesturing to Mikoto with respect.

Mikoto put her head down, tears threatening to overflow as Sasuke looked at her in confusion. He turned to the Hokage and sighed, saying, "I can understand that something needed to be done about it, but…was killing everyone really the right answer?"

The Third, taken aback by this, but not letting it show on his face, replied, "It wasn't my decision. Danzo and the other elders ordered Itachi to do it behind my back, and he agreed, even if it meant becoming a missing-nin."

Sasuke sighed and peered at his mother, asking, "Why didn't you tell me this, Kaa-san?"

Mikoto, tears streaming down her face, leaned forward and grabbed Sasuke in one of her famous hugs.

Naruto and the Third looked at each other and left the room, leaving mother and son to speak alone with each other, in what would most likely be heart-wrenching conversation.

Closing the door softly, Naruto turned and saw Ino, Sakura and Hinata sitting in chairs, fidgeting worriedly with their clothes. Naruto called the girls' attention to himself, and nodded, saying, "Hey, girls. Sasuke just woke up, and he's talking with his mom right now. You can probably see him later."

He kissed Hinata goodbye with a gentle smile, walking away with the Sandaime, not noticing the jealous and sad looks Ino shot Hinata and Naruto.

Although Itachi had killed his clan, Naruto knew that in his books, and those of his best friends, Itachi was still their nii-san who had taught them so much.

…

**Four Years Later…**

The Shinobi academy was the school for the future generations of ninja, and the hopefully bright future of Konohagakure no Sato. Heaven for some (The bookworms and prodigies), hell for others (The untalented and the lazy). But, it was an absolute pain in the ass for Naruto Uzumaki. And by his own choice.

Well, not his choice, exactly; Alex Mercer's to be exact, but Naruto agrees with him.

_Deception is the greatest tool.** First Rule of the Shinobi, **that few follow**.**_

Despite his average class skills, bright and sunny disposition…that was not the real Naruto Uzumaki, the ones only his friends knew. That was simply a mask, that he wears to hide his true skills, skills that many would kill to have.

Including Naruto.

You see, when Naruto was five, he was viciously murdered by a large group of angry civilians, out to kill the 'demon brat.' They succeeded, at the price of their lives, taken by one of his ANBU protectors.

As he lay dying, one of the tenants in his body, an evolutionary being named Alex Mercer, released no small amount of a virus, codenamed BLACKLIGHT, into his body to save him. As the evolutionary virus escaped the cell Alex was contained in, the seal on the cage holding him purified it, making it benevolent and far less contagious, changing its structure to something better.

It fixed Naruto's body, rewriting his DNA and adding itself into his helix, evolving him into something more than human, ninja, or jinchuriki.

It changed him gradually, over a period of a night. First, it absorbed the biomass from the crowd of corpses, healing his wounds and increasing his already incredible healing factor, to the point that he could withstand almost anything. Secondly, it began to build his muscles up, compacting and strengthening them to incredible heights. This was because of the tremendous amount of biomass that was absorbed. Lastly, it changed his DNA, to the point that it could become unstable at will, allowing him to consume more biomass, and change his arms into blades, claws, hammers, whips, and even more.

All of this was directed by Alex, inside Naruto's head, who built Naruto into the image of a perfect hunter.

With his 'amazing' sense of fashion as a bonus.

This, is where the story really takes off, at the Shinobi Academy; the day of the Genin Exams, where everyone is going to meet the real and totally badass, Naruto Uzumaki.

Though, that is not the only reveal that shall happen.

During the past five years, Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, Ino and Sakura had all grown closer together as a team, and as friends.

As he had shown Sasuke and Hinata, Naruto revealed to Ino and Sakura his secret bloodline, and exactly how he had received it. Like Sasuke and Hinata, the two light-haired girls were horrified that Naruto had to suffer for most of his life. But in the end, it drew them closer together.

Now, today, the two boys and three girls were fully prepared to ace the exam, and hopefully be put on the same teams.

Hinata sat next to Sasuke, while Ino and Sakura sat a level above them. They chatted about what they could expect on the test, and who they thought would pass.

But, unfortunately, Kiba was on the prowl.

"Come on, Hinata-chan!" Kiba Inuzuka whined plaintively, as if it would make him more attractive (which it did not), to Hinata Hyuuga, now age fifteen. "That dumbass Naruto is never going to notice you! Come on, why don't you date me instead? I'm much better than that idiot Naruto! I'll treat you like real woman!"

Hinata Hyuuga responded shyly, poking her fingers together cutely, "K-Kiba, d-don't s-s-say s-such t-things!" Though inwardly, she was prepared to stomp on this punk for insulting her boyfriend, and subsequently, his manliness.

It was a well-known secret to the Academy that Hinata had a crush the size of the Hokage Monument on Naruto Uzumaki, for some reason.

It was also well known that Naruto was clueless about this.

Oh, how wrong they were.

Kiba kept up the date requests, going so far as to invade Hinata's personal space, leaning in close to her face. Hinata, inside her mind, was prepared to Jyuuken Kiba in the sack for his transgressions.

The ninken ninja was so involved in trying to 'get some' from Hinata that he didn't notice the angry stare coming from a hooded stranger, who had just entered the classroom silently.

He did notice, however, when a hand grabbed the back of his hood, arresting his forward 'progress'. (If you could call it 'progress'.) He definitely noticed when that hand hoisted him out of the seat and into the air. He was brought face to face with an angry looking stranger, blue eyes glaring out from under the hood.

"What the hell, man!" Kiba yelled, drawing the attention of the entire class to the back, where they saw Kiba being held in the air like a bad dog.

"What are you doing, Kiba?" He asked in a somewhat familiar voice. Hinata's face held an uncharacteristic smirk, but it was gone in a flash, replaced by her usual blush.

"Who are you, and why do you know my name?" Kiba asked arrogantly.

The guy raised an eyebrow, and said in a mock-hurt voice, "Why, Kiba, I'm hurt you don't recognize me." He flipped his hood off his head, showing his silvery-blue eyes and blonde, slicked-back hair to the room.

Gasps littered the room, and Naruto smirked. "After all," He said, "I am going to be Hokage. Believe it."

That little saying, about being Hokage, along with the 'believe it'; were all a part of Naruto's mask, just as Hinata's shy stuttering was a part of her mask.

Kiba smirked nastily. "What's with the Henge, dumbass? Far too ugly to get any ladies as yourself?" Snickers echoed out from some of the lesser classmates.

But Naruto still smiled like a shark. "If this is a Henge, Kiba, then dispel it."

Kiba huffed in annoyance, and brought his hands together in the Ram sign. He sent a pulse of chakra out, muttering, "Kai."

Nothing happened at all, and a stunned silence descended on the classroom.

Kiba's eyes widened, and Naruto's smile grew. He sent another pulse out, this time yelling, "KAI!"

"It's not a Henge."

This was Hinata speaking, with that uncharacteristic smirk on her face, Byakugan activated. A smirk also flitted across Sasuke's face, before vanishing like smoke. Hinata sauntered over to Naruto, who had a smile still on his face, and asked lowly, "Is it time?"

He nodded, and her grin matched Naruto's.

Then, Hinata, the shy little girl who couldn't get a sentence out straight, pulled Naruto's head down, and kissed him full on the lips, in front of the entire classroom, full of people.

Shikamaru's eyebrows could have reached the clouds, were they not attached to his head. "Now this is troublesome." He shook his head with a sigh, and went back to sleep.

Kiba was gaping (Along with most of the class) Sasuke chuckled quietly, and Shino was clapping softly.

Now, for shock value, they were full-on makin' out, tongue and all, Naruto still holding Kiba by the hood, though he seemed to have been forgotten by the pair.

Thundering footsteps reached the shocked classroom, and Ino and Sakura burst through the doors, both panting. "Ha! I told you we wouldn't be late, Ino!"

Then they noticed the rather handsome fellow tongue wrasslin' with Hinata. They both knew that it was time to drop the masks they wore in class. Ino's face scrunched up in jealousy, and Sakura bit back laughter.

Ami, one of Sasuke's more 'outspoken' fangirls, decided to make her presence known, quite loudly.

"NARUTO-BAKA!" She screeched.

Naruto sighed, and broke the kiss with Hinata grudgingly. Giving Ami a bored look, he asked in a monotone voice, "What, banshee?"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" She screamed, quite insulted.

Hinata scoffed. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Jaws hit the floor. Was this the same, shy little Hinata, who wouldn't say a bad thing about anyone? Was she cursing? (What was the world coming to?)

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME!"

"You heard me, you shrieking banshee." Hinata sneered.

And now, Ami was speechless. Whether from rage or shock, was anybody's guess.

Naruto smirked. He was glad Hinata had put the purple-haired bully in her place. It had been far too long since she was taken down a peg "You tell 'em, Tenshi." He looked down at Hinata with a smile, and moved in closer. She giggled, and reciprocated happily.

They were about an inch away, when an annoying voice yelled, "Hey!"

Giving Kiba a death glare, enhanced by the Byakugan from Hinata, Naruto asked with a sigh, "What, mutt?"

Kiba looked completely lost. "What the fuck is going on?"

Naruto frowned unhappily. "Well, before you so rudely interrupted, I was about to show my Tenshi how much I love her." He smiled at Hinata, who had her arms around him, and winked. "Well, not too much. That's for later." She blushed and smacked him playfully on the arm, grinning.

Turning back to Kiba, Naruto's face lost all playfulness. "I don't like the way you were trying to make a move on Hinata, Kiba." He got nose-to-nose with Kiba, leaking a large killer intent, focused entirely on the shaking dog ninja. "Don't. Do it. Again."

Naruto tossed Kiba on his ass. "Scram, mutt, before I let Hinata neuter you."

Kiba scrambled back on his butt, away from Naruto. Akamaru popped his head out from behind Shino's desk, asking in the canine language, 'Is it safe again?' Kiba growled at the little puppy angrily. 'Where the hell were you?' Akamaru yipped back in consternation, 'Are you retarded? Did you expect me to fight him? He's taller than you are!'

Iruka Umino and Mizuki Touji entered a classroom in disarray. Not the classroom itself, just the students. They settled down as Iruka, a rather pleasant chunin who had a special jutsu that allowed his head to grow to five times its' regular size, and Mizuki, a silver-haired chunin that seemed to have some kind of problem with Naruto.

Hinata and Naruto were in the back of the classroom, holding hands, Shino was staring at the chalkboard (this was no different then what he usually did), Choji was eating (Of course), albeit slowly; Shikamaru was sleeping, as was his norm; Sasuke was chuckling to himself quietly; Sakura looked like she was trying not to bust out laughing; Ino was staring at Hinata and Naruto, a blush on her face, and Kiba was brooding, strangely. Usually that was what Sasuke did.

Mizuki thought, _What the fuck happened here?_ Iruka was laughing mentally at the expression on Mizuki's face, having never seen his fellow chunin look so surprised.

"Hey, Naruto!" He called. Naruto looked up and waved to Iruka, smiling. "You finally dropped it, huh?"

Naruto smiled and gave Iruka the thumbs up, while Hinata and the girls, along with Sasuke, smiled mysteriously.

"Alright class, settle down!" Iruka said loudly, drawing the attention of the excited students. "Today, as you know, you are taking the Genin Exams." The students made various excited noises while the Naruto and his friends smiled at each other. Iruka called for silence, but was ignored, and so began making discrete handsigns with an annoyed eye-twitch.

His head grew to five times its' original size and he roared, **"SHUT UP!"**

The students dropped into a fearful silence. Iruka's head retracted to the normal parameters, and he sighed. "Okay. Now, the Exam is given in three parts. First, a written exam. Then, a taijutsu spar with either myself or Mizuki. And finally, an exam on your knowledge of ninjutsu, specifically the Henge, Kawarimi, and Bunshin. Mizuki will pass out the written exam, and you will start as soon as you receive it."

Mizuki passed out the quiz, casting a small genjutsu over Naruto's paper as he handed it to him. Naruto noticed the slight usage of chakra, and scanned his paper searchingly.

_What the hell? These are questions a jonin wouldn't know!_ Naruto thought incredulously.

Alex agreed heartily._ I know! If you're going to try and sabotage, at least put some effort into it!_

_Damn right!_

Naruto peeked over his test and saw Mizuki smirking slightly. _So that's how it is, bitch?_ He thought as he growled mentally. _Time to feel the thunder!_

Naruto closed his eyes and focused his killing intent directly on Mizuki, concentrating hard so that no one else would feel it.

Mizuki froze as he felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his head, and several visions of his death floated before his eyes: Decapitation, evisceration, and his worst nightmare, drowning in a pool of his own blood.

The kid Mizuki was handing his test to looked at the chunin in confusion, which quickly became disgust when the kid noticed the wet stain growing on the front of Mizuki's pants. "Oh Kami, Mizuki-sensei! Save it for the bathroom!"

This drew attention to an embarrassed Mizuki, who ran from the room to go change, while having the pleasant side-effect of dropping the genjutsu on Naruto's paper. Naruto smiled in satisfaction while Alex laughed in his head.

Suffice to say, the written test was boring as hell. Naruto, having a genius sealed in him; Hinata, having had some tutoring from Sakura, was easily passing, as was with Sakura and Ino. Sasuke had no problem with it, most likely because his mother would kill him if he failed something so easy.

The written exam passed quickly for the little group, and all too soon, it was time for the taijutsu portion of the Exam.

Iruka and Mizuki led the class out into the main yard of the school, next to a dirt ring that was about twenty feet across.

"Now," Iruka started, "This is the taijutsu portion of the exam, where we will pair you up with each other, and you will spar for three minutes. The winner will be decided when there is a clear knockout, or if it is a draw, the most amount of hits. Understand?"

The class nodded, easy enough.

Having dropped their respective masks, the Kunoichi of the group knew that this would be an easy time. Not everyone had gotten the advanced training they had received from their sensei.

The group of friends watched in boredom as Mizuki, with a fresh change of pants, and Iruka, who kept shooting Mizuki odd glances, defend against the students who, in the case of the Clan Heirs, like Shino Aburame; whose taijutsu was decent, received a seven out of ten; and Shikamaru Nara, the laziest boy in class, received a five out of ten after he lazily punched Mizuki a few times, then laid down and stared at the clouds until Mizuki called the match; Chouji Akimichi's taijutsu was pretty good, but not as good because his families taijutsu relied on the ability to use the Akimichi Body Expansion Jutsu, and so received a seven; Kiba Inuzuka's family specialized in taijutsu, and Kiba was well versed in it, and received the highest score so far, eight.

Next came Sakura. The funny thing about her that her friends had found out about her was that, while she had a wiry, athletic build, her strength belied her size. So much that Naruto, with Alex concurring, thought that she had some sort of bloodline that allowed her to channel miniscule amounts of chakra into every punch and kick, even if she was exhausted.

Alex also said that if Naruto and Sakura had babies, they would be 'the strongest little pink-haired bastards to ever live', end quote.

During the test, Sakura showed her amazing strength by punching Mizuki's lights out with one fierce punch to the chest. The chunin flew out of the ring and impacted into a tree twenty feet away. And then she skipped back to her group of friends, whistling as the class looked on in surprise.

Next up was Hinata. Her family, like the Inuzuka's, excelled in taijutsu, though where the Inuzuka's focused on clawed swipes, the Hyuuga's focused on damaging the organs and chakra coils in a person's body, leaving them unable to use chakra and damaging them heavily at the same time. Hinata, though very well practiced in the art of Jyuuken, or 'Gentle Fist', was considered weak and useless by her clan, mostly the main branch, because of her inability to harm her younger sister in spars.

Hinata stepped forward and dealt two lightning fast strike to Mizuki's shoulders, shutting down the tenketsu and immobilizing his arms. She then slammed an open-palm strike to his chest, throwing him back out of the ring and ending the fight.

Next up, was Ino. Though her family specialized in interrogation techniques, reading memories and taking control of another's body, she was well-versed in the art of taijutsu, thanks to Itachi and Anko, who Naruto introduced to the group after Itachi defected. Anko took the girls aside and taught them her personalized Snake-style taijutsu, which relied on flexibility and quick fast strikes to disable opponents. Sakura preferred to find a different style that allowed her to use her freakish strength, while Hinata mixed it with her Jyuuken, with deadly results, leading to Hinata naming her style the Jyuu-Hebi, or 'Gentle-Snake'.

Ino was the only one who stuck with straight up Hebi-no-Mai, and she and Anko had practice every Friday. Sometimes, she invited Naruto to watch, a 'good sign for future endeavors', Alex said.

Surprisingly, that was exactly what Anko said, with a rather saucy wink.

The virus in Naruto's head had a field day with that one.

Ino shifted into her Hebi-no-Mai stance, hands out and pointed like a striking snake, arms crooked. She darted forward, striking Iruka twice in the abdomen, leaning back to avoid a retaliatory punch, jabbing the offending arm in three spots, making numb and useless. Iruka called a stop to the fight and awarded her an eight.

Kiba was furious that he was getting shown up by 'bitches' that should be weaklings, who should recognize his 'Alpha-ness' and beg on bended knee to be 'dominated'.

And, next to last, came Sasuke. He, like many other Uchiha's, used the Interceptor Fist, a taijutsu style exclusively used with the Sharingan, to copy and intercept other's taijutsu forms.

He came at Mizuki fast and hard, making the chunin go on the defensive for real, barely able to get a hit in, while Sasuke pummeled him to his knees and knocked him out with a knee to the forehead. He was awarded a ten out of ten, to which he snorted and thought, _Favoritism._

Sasuke cheered and jumped around like an idiot in a switcheroo of masks with Naruto. For once, Sasuke's fangirls were silent.

Naruto came last, facing off against Iruka. Naruto started things off by dashing at Iruka and sliding underneath the surprised sensei, grabbing his ankle and yanking him off his feet. Naruto rolled over Iruka, smashing the air out of the chunin, and grabbing him in a full on headlock.

"You better call the fight, Iruka-sensei, because in this position, I can break your neck in three ways, suffocate, or pull a kunai out and slit your throat." Naruto said in a monotone voice.

Iruka struggled some more, then sighed and called it. Naruto received a nine out of ten. Naruto stuffed his hands in his pockets, slouching out of the ring in the classic brooding pose

Next up was the individual ninjutsu testing, using the three basic Academy ninjutsus, the Bunshin, Henge, and Kawarimi. The final exam, the ninjutsu portion, came. Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, Ino and Sakura watched as some students came out with headbands, proud and smiling, while others came out bare headed, angry or sad. Naruto's little group had far more advanced training with harder jutsu, and therefore passed easily, to the shock of the new genin outside the room.

The group had no problems passing the test, though Mizuki still tried to sabotage Naruto. The look on his face was priceless when the blonde pulled the chakra disruption tag from underneath his chair and ripped it in half.

The group met with their parents, headbands worn proudly. Mikoto and Sasuke left for a personal celebration, while Ino, Shikamaru, Sakura and Choji left with their own parents for a celebratory dinner with their families.

Hiashi, the Hyuuga clan head, simply muttered, "Acceptable." Before leaving with his nose in the air. Hinata scowled his back as Naruto put an arm around her shoulder comfortingly.

"Come on, Hinata-tenshi. Let's go visit with Jiji, he'll be happy for us. And don't forget what Anko-chan and Kurenai-nee-chan will want to do to celebrate!" Naruto smiled at the Hyuuga heiress, who lost the scowl and started to smile happily.

…

"You should have seen their faces, Jiji! It was hilarious! They didn't expect a thing!" The Hokage's office rang with laughter, as Naruto and the Sandaime rocked back in their chairs, clutching their sides with mirth as Hinata giggled next to her boyfriend.

Wiping away the tears of laughter, the Hokage straightened his robes and cleared his throat, trying to pull himself back together. "Ahem. So, did you find anything out about tonight?"

Naruto nodded. "Not really, but I got these bad vibes from Mizuki, and he kept trying to fail me, even went so far as to put a genjutsu on my paper."

Sarutobi frowned. "I shall have him watched closely. If he's going to turn traitor, we'll know before anything big goes down."

Naruto sighed and stood from the chair, holding a hand out for Hinata to take. "Well, old man, I better go. Sasuke and Mikoto extended an invitation to me for dessert tonight, and Mikoto-chan makes the best mochi ice-cream I've ever tasted. I don't want to be late, and you have paperwork to do."

The Sandaime glared at the paper bastards, wishing they would spontaneously combust. He sighed heavily in resignation, and waved good-bye to Naruto and Hinata as they jumped out the window.

As he walked down the street, after dropping Hinata off at her clan home, Naruto reflected on what his life was like, when he was five, and now, when he's fifteen.

"The differences are amazing," he murmured to himself.

Reaching the Uchiha compound where he lived with Sasuke and Mikoto, he pushed open the door and prepared to enter, when he caught something out of the corner of his eye. A figure dashing along the rooftops, something large slung across its' back. Naruto only caught a small glance, but that was enough to get his full attention.

The object on the figure's back bore the kanji 'Forbidden'.

Naruto called out for Sasuke, who sprinted up to him and asked, "What?" Pointing to the figure jumping across the rooftops, Naruto asked, "Hey, Sasuke, see that? I think that guy might have the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing."

Sasuke gave him a weird look. "And what makes you so sure about that?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the huge fucking kanji for 'Forbidden' printed on it?" Naruto sarcastically replied.

Sasuke's eyes widened, and they took off after the figure as it disappeared into the forests surrounding Konoha.

…

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, stood in front of the gathered ninja forces. He took a deep, cleansing breath, and shouted above the noise of the ninjas.

"Everyone, your attention please!" The ninja's quieted down, looking to the Hokage. "I have some very grave news. Just twenty minutes ago, someone broke into the Hokage's office, stealing the Sacred Scroll of Sealing and leaving without being caught."

Murmurs broke out in the ranks, and someone called out, "It was the demon brat!" Agreements were heard, until a voice spoke up.

"Did someone just call my Naru-kun a demon?" Anko Mitarashi said, smiling a sickly-sweet smile, twirling a kunai menacingly. No one knew how, but everyone knew that the 'Demon Brat' and the 'Snake Whore' of Konoha were close, and several people found out the hard way, that calling them those names to their faces (as well as behind their back) was a death warrant. Also a torture-and-castration warrant.

The chunin who had spoken up turned pale and began sweating profusely. "N-no!"

Anko's smile grew wider and more shark-like, licking the kunai suggestively. "Good! No one calls him that and gets away with it, you hear?" (If the suggestion was death, that is.)

The Hokage sighed again, rubbing the bridge of his nose exasperatedly. "Enough! It was not Naruto Uzumaki, we don't know who it was! And that is why I want all of you to search for them, in teams of four! Have at least one tracker in every group!"

A resounding, "Hai!" was heard, and the ninja split up and disappeared to search.

…

Though he didn't know it, Kiba Inuzuka was in a lot of trouble. After the exams, which he had passed, Mizuki approached him and offered him a secret, extra-credit test that promised to make him the Rookie of the Year.

Being Kiba, he took it without a second thought, though he rarely has those anyway. His reasoning was, as shaky as it seemed, was that if he became ROTY, he could rub it in those smug bastards faces (Sasuke and Naruto) and then their female friends would recognize him as Alpha, and that whole thing-that-couldn't-possibly-happen.

He broke into the Hokage's office, which was surprisingly easy. He chalked it up to his 'awesome' skills in stealth. And then he made his way to the outskirts of Konoha, where Mizuki would award him the ROTY certificate, and take the scroll back, with no one the wiser.

But, when he made it to the clearing, he noticed that there was a specific lack of Mizuki. Shrugging, Kiba set the scroll down and sat against the small, broken down shack, waiting for Mizuki to show up.

He heard a rustling in the tree tops and stood, smiling and ready to receive his reward from Mizuki. Instead, he heard a yell from someone he did not want to see right then.

"Kiba! What the hell are you doing with the Forbidden scroll?" Sasuke yelled as he landed on the ground, dropping into his Interceptor stance.

Kiba yelled back, "Fuck off, teme! This is MY test, and you aren't going to ruin it, and I will be Rookie of the Year!"

Sasuke looked confused. "What test?"

Kiba answered with, "Don't pull that shit with me! You're just trying to get me to give you the scroll!"

At that point Naruto made himself known, by launching himself at Kiba, landing a flying kick to the side of the genin's face.

…

Somewhere, far away in Konoha, a man in a tight green spandex suit, orange leg-warmers, and bowl-cut hair, the bushiest pair of eyebrows anyone had and would ever see, froze in his lightning-fast search for the thief of the Forbidden scroll.

"YOSH!" He screamed to the heavens. "Someone has just expressed their inner FLAMES OF YOUTH! I must find them, and join them in their youthful expression! I'M COMING, MY YOUTHFUL FRIENDS!"

And so, Might Gai, jonin of Konoha and self-proclaimed Eternal Rival of Kakashi Hatake, sped off, leaving a dust cloud behind and an echoing cry of "YOUUTH!"

…

As Kiba slid down from the side of the shed where he had been kicked, unconscious, Naruto shuddered in fear. _I either made someone very happy, or damned myself._

_I'm guessing probably both._ Alex quipped.

Naruto laid out the scroll gently, Sasuke sidling up next to him as the blonde began to jot down jutsu from the scroll. Sasuke looked at him strangely, then shrugged and joined him in writing down jutsu.

It took them about thirty minutes, but they managed to get the entire scroll down on paper. Naruto had just rolled it up and sealed it as Mizuki jumped onto the branch of a tree four meters in front of them.  
Mizuki jumped in surprise as he looked at Naruto and Sasuke staring at him. "So, where's Kiba?" he asked, hoping to direct their attention away from him.

Didn't work.

Naruto pointed accusingly at Mizuki. "You're the one who convinced Kiba to steal the scroll! What, too clumsy and stupid to do it yourself?"

Mizuki sneered at Naruto as he jumped from the tree branch, pulling one of the giant shuriken from his back as he did.

"It's too bad that the 'Last Uchiha' came with you, brat. Orochimaru-sama would have loved to have him for his…experiments." He began twirling the shuriken around his fingers, the blades whistling as they cut through the air.

As he pulled his arm to back to throw it, a cry of "DYNAMIC ENTRY!" Rang out as a man with bowl-cut hair, jonin flak-vest, green spandex and orange leg warmers kicked Mizuki in the face. Time seemed to freeze as the jonin gave a thumbs-up and a smile that blinded both of the teens, even though it was nighttime.

Mizuki went flying, his shuriken flying off into the forest, and slammed into a tree with a sickening crack, falling to the ground, obviously unconscious and with an arm at a rather unpleasant angle.

The green-spandex-man shouted, "YOSH! My most youthful genin, what good luck it was that my youth-sense lead me straight to this spot, in time to catch this most Unyouthful traitor! I was right in time to show you my DYNAMIC ENTRY! Most youthful indeed!"

Sasuke leaned over and whispered to Naruto, "Isn't that the same move you used on Kiba?"

Apparently the man heard, because he appeared in front of Naruto and Sasuke with another one of his shining smiles, nearly blinding them. The teens were speechless at this man's speed. They hadn't seen him move at all.

"YOSH! Did my most youthful ears hear you correctly? You used my most youthful 'Dynamic Entry' on someone Unyouthful?" He asked loudly, his voice booming out across the forest.

Naruto nodded shakily, and jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Kiba, who was still unconscious and now drooling on the forest floor. "Yeah, I used it on him because he stole the scroll. Sorry about that, I didn't know it was your thing." He apologized, bowing at the waist.

Once again, Naruto and Sasuke were blinded by a shining smile from the green jonin. "Not at all, my most youthful friends! This just goes to show, that even if you are unaware, your Fires of Youth still burn fiercely, with the youth of a thousand suns!" He bent down and picked up Mizuki, heaving him over his shoulder with frightening ease. "In fact, my youthful student, Rock Lee and I train everyday to stoke our Fires of Youth! Perhaps you would like to join us someday, in making your own Flames burn that much brighter?" He asked, quirking a massive eyebrow.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other and shrugged, saying, "Sure, why not?" But Naruto asked the important question, "What's your name, jonin-san?"

The jonin clapped a hand to his forehead loudly, like a sonic boom. "Of course, I forgot my name! My apologies, that was most Unyouthful of myself! I am The Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha, Might Gai!" He smiled again, blinding the teens once again, and bowed. "I shall see you tomorrow at three o'clock, my youthful friends! But for now, I am off to give this traitor to Ibiki! YOSH!"

How he could sound so cheerful while saying that, Naruto and Sasuke would never know. Nor would they want to.

Might Gai sped off, leaving behind Naruto and Sasuke in dust cloud. Kiba was just beginning to come around, groaning and rolling over. Naruto punched Kiba in forehead, knocking him out again swiftly, hefting him onto his shoulder. "Alright, let's get Kiba back to the Hokage for his punishment. Even more than that, his mother will want to know what he's been doing, _won't she_?"

Sasuke smirked at Naruto and they walked back towards the village, their laughter echoing off the trees. In his sleep, Kiba shuddered unconsciously.

Because they knew that Kiba was in for more than just a world of hurt. It was more like an entire universe of pain, torture, and plain old fun for everyone except Kiba himself. His mother, Tsume Inuzuka, had neutered men for looking at her wrong; just imagine what she would do when she found out that Kiba had stolen a forbidden scroll.

She would be so pissed, the Hulk would be green with envy.

…

**A/N: Hells yeah, my first 10,000+ chapter! WOO! Hopefully not the last, either.**

**It took two of the BLN:R chapters, and one from BLN. **

**I have decided to not bash Sasuke in this fic. I figure, the guy gets it enough. Besides, people bash him for acting like he does in canon, and that's just silly. It's FANFICTION. I don't think that the motto should be 'Unleash your imagination!, I think it should be: 'Change the shit you don't like!' (Saying trademarked by Soleneus Inc., a derivative of CHAOS! Co.)**

**That, in my mind, is what fanfiction is about.**

**Sasuke a douche?**

**Change it!**

**Sakura a bitch?**

**Change it!**

**Naruto orange and retarded?**

**FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, CHANGE IT!**

**Get my point?**

**Something I sincerely hate from a reviewer is when they say: "This story sucks! It doesn't follow canon at all!"**

**That is when I would sit back in my chair, smoke my pipe and drink cognac and say…**

"**No shit, dumbass. Did you just figure that out now?"**

**Character too OC? Who gives a shit? It's _fiction,_ made by _fans_. It doesn't have to be canon compliant! That's the whole goddamn point!**

**Okay, now that I have that out of my system…**

**I know that today's the whole 'blackout of ', but I wouldn't be able to post this chapter until Monday if I didn't post it today, and that would be rude.**

**Thank you, all who have reviewed! The good ones really make my day, and the constructive criticism really does help.**

**Keep Being Awesome!**

**-Soleneus.**

**P.S.: Also, can someone tell me how to upload an image to the story? I have the perfect one in mind, I just don't know how to tag it to the story.**


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